Topic: can brass screws be used with aluminum?

[nollid51]

Hey guys, title says it all. im putting back the stator housing on my CB 550, which I'm pretty sure is made of aluminum. In any case, I needed to get new screws and I just bought what they had at lowes. They're brass, and I'm wondering if it is safe or not to use these or if some reaction will occur where they will fuse together or corrode. So what do you guys think? Thanks in advance. -Joe

[martino1972]

theres a rule.........2 different kinds of metal in a salt or soure liquid will produce electricity,causing corrosion on the metal...its like the nail in the zink gutter,the rain water will cause the nail to make a hole in the gutter..

you probably could do it,but i would make sure that theres a ton of anti seize compound on the treads'

[malcolmgb]

I would say Brass is no more likely to seize than Steel, just use some anti-seize grease as martino suggested, I use Copaslip http://www.molyslip.co.uk/anti_sieze_compounds/ I see they also do an Alumslip that is new to me.

Where in NJ are you?

[eurban]

Brass is a poor choice.  What is the drive system for the brass screws you purchased? Phillips heads?  Your going to roach those heads out quicker than you can say "I shoulda got steel instead"

[Bodi]

Way back, I had a Jeep and got peeved when the front plate would get bent under the bumper. I bolted a 1/2" aluminum plate to the bumper and attached the license to the aluminum using brass bolts, I think I threaded the aluminum but it may have been using nuts. I figured that brass would be corrosion resisrtant and would last forever... maybe they do in steel but in aluminum not so much.
Anyway, a few years passed and one of the brass bolt heads fell off. Those brass bolts were totally corroded away. I think stainless steel would be a better choice, there's less reaction and antiseize seems to handle it. I definitely used antiseize with the brass bolts, I was a bit weird with the stuff then - one of the first things I did after picking up the new Jeep was to take every fastener off that I could and put antiseize on them. I also used a fair number of SS fasteners to replace the originals where strength wasn't an issue. The body rusted away to dust after 12 years but I could still unbolt the seats...

[nollid51]

Hey thanks for the responses guys. Looks like tomorrow I'll have to get my lazy self to home depot for some stainless screws. Ill get some picks up soon too. I've had to do alot to even remove the stator housing. The frozen bolts were such a pain, ended up dremel cutting the heads off. Then I had to remove the rusty exhaust that needs to be fixed anyway to use vise grips to unscrew the remaining bolt (bottom closest to the front). But one thing is for sure, marvel mystery oil helps a lot, the exhaust came off nicely after putting some on. Now that Ive got my CX running I cant wait to hear my CB, so I'm gonna try to do this all tomorrow.

Oh BTW Malcom I'm in South Jersey near Camden. 


-Joe